#but also the kents are poor lex

[just-an-enby-lemon]

I'm slowly rewatching Smallville and I think in episode two Lex just stoled an apple from the Kents? Like they were literally packing the apples to sell them and Lex just picked one without permission. And I mean is just an apple and I'm normally all in for people stealing basic necessities but Lex is a bilionaire why is he stealing apples? Go pay for it your little bourgeoisie trash.

[aschriles]

Secret identity shenanigans AU where Danny is an intern at LexCorp and has no idea the guy he's been flirting with these past few weeks actually wasn't a fellow intern, but was the son of his boss' boss, and is also Superboy.

(Yeah, that Superboy. From the Titans. The one who kept flirting with him while they were on the field, and sent him a DM on his Phantom account insisting they met during Danny's internship. In his defense, Kon wore flannel. And glasses.)

Danny might not have the best relationship with rich people (see: Vlad), but he had to suck it up if he was going to intern at LexCorp. Anyway, it wasn't like he'd have to personally deliver Luthor his coffee every morning.

Except that's exactly what happens. Somehow, by some sheer cosmic force of the universe, he ends up interning directly under Hope, aka one of Lex Luthor's personal assistant. Which means he's like, Lex Luthor's personal assistant's personal assistant... or something. In theory, it was perfect. In reality, it was stupid.

It was stupid, because Hope sends him out for Luthor's special coffee (an iced Americano from that one coffee shop all the way on the other side of Metropolis) and pastries (a whole-ass apple pie) at nine in the morning every single day when everyone and their mom knew the traffic was literal hell, then expected him to be back at the office five minutes later. Among other things, of course. For the thousandth time since he got stuck in this hell-hole, he made a mental note to burn all of Luthor's robots to the ground the next time Superman called for the JLD to help out with Luthor's stupid invasions. Stupid Luthor. Stupid coffee. Stupid apple pie.

Danny grumbled under his breath as he speed-walked inside the lobby. "Why can't Luthor just take his coffee and shove it—"

"Up his ass? Yeah, that's what I ask myself aaallll the time."

Danny whipped his head around so fast, he almost tripped on his feet. Sitting on one of the comfy couches was a guy around his age. He looked like a weird cross between a country boy (flannel and glasses) and a punk (messy dark hair, piercings, and was that a tattoo?) but like, in a hot way. He also looked—he looked kinda familiar, in an 'I know I saw you from somewhere' kind of way, but Danny couldn't remember where he actually saw him from. He shook his head, figuring he could deal with it later. "You an intern, too?"

Made sense he wasn't the only intern around, but a part of Danny couldn't help but pity the poor guy if he got stuck interning as Mercy's personal assistant. Mercy was scarier than Zatanna and Nightmare Nurse combined.

Flannel shrugged his shoulders. "I mean, I do some odd jobs here and there, so..." His face lit up, like an idea had suddenly occurred to him. "Hey, I could come with you, if you want. As like, moral support or something. You're heading to Hope's office, right?"

Danny paused. Technically, it's not like there was any harm with letting another intern tag along. Plus, he could use some help with the apple pie. "Sure, man. I'm Danny," he added, since it was the polite thing to do, even if he couldn't go for a handshake because Luthor's stupid coffee and apple pie required both hands.

Flannel grinned, all teeth, and maybe he really was famous, like a model? Or someone from TV? Danny was pretty sure he'd seen that smile before. Maybe Flannel was a random civilian he'd rescued? "Nice to meet you, Danny. The name's Conner Kent, but you can call me Kon."

[lazycats-stuff]

could you do konner and clark kent x kid reader like just fluff and angst. like lex tried to make another clone but he’s still super young abd confused

Alright. Some more Superman content, yay. And I will go to the grave saying that Henry Cavill is drop dead gorgeous and a great Superman.

Summary: Lex made another clone. Superman and Superboy are going to kill him.

Warnings:

When the Justice League heard about the rumors of Lex creating more clones, they were concerned. Superman especially. He had experience with Conner and that was going to be a plus going into this mission, if they do find some clones.

Clark could only hope that they didn't find any. He only hoped that they wouldn't find anyone in there. Especially the clones. He only wished to destroy the facility and gather evidence against Lex Luther.

That's the only thing he wanted. Evidence and a destroyed facility. The only thing that he wanted was that. Conner agreed with Clark, his father figure. Their relationship was almost father son and he had a brotherly connection with Jon.

As they were flying to the facility, he thought about what they could find in the facility. Would they really find more clones? Or would they find the failure clones?

He closed his eyes for a moment. He would rather find live clones than the failures. Whose DNA were even going to use? His own? What if Lex had some of his DNA in storage? Superman sighed quietly, shaking his head.

He could only hope that Lex didn't have anymore of his DNA. He didn't need another Conner on his hands. He didn't need anymore shocks like Conner put him through when he first saw him.

He would remember all of it for as long as he lived.

He took a quiet deep breath as the airplane stopped and landed down on the ground. All of them stood up and walked to the facility. It was supposed to be abandoned so that made things a little bit easier.

Hopefully. Superman wasn't really interested in a fight today. He really wasn't. It was devoid of the normal human noises like heartbeats, breathing and talking.

Only the steady beeping of the machines. Conner is listening for anything out of the ordinary, walking next to Batman. Superman would glance at Conner ever so often to make sure he is okay. This facility was the same were Conner was... Created.

He was worried about him. What if he got some sort of flashback? Superman knew he couldn't know with 100% certainty, but if something is to happen, they would get him. Batman suggested to bring some Kryptonite in case of a flashback.

And he had some in his belt. Just in case he needed to be knocked out. But only as the last resort. Only then.

Superman and Batman glanced at one another, clearly thinking about the same thing. Just what if?

" Wait, I hear something. " Conner and Clark said at the same time. Batman tensed up as Superboy and Superman led the way into the facility. There was one pod that was working and there was a... Child.

A child.

Batman and Superman saw red. Lex is going to be taken down. One way or another. By any means necessary.

" That is just a kid. " Conner said quietly, sad look in his eyes. Also, Batman could see some similarity with Superman. Lex does have some more of Superman's DNA. Not good.

" We have to get the kid out. " Superman said, watching as Batman went to look at the computer in the room. He started typing, trying to get more intel and trying to get the poor kid out of the pod. It was wiped from any intel, but there were commands in regards to the pods.

" Get ready. " Batman warned Superman who waited with his arms prepared to get the kid out. Bruce opened the pod and Superman took the kid out, Superboy helping him out. Superman picked the child up, making sure that he leaned against his chest.

Even Batman seemed disturbed by this scene. A kid.

Lex has officially crossed a line.

" Lets take him back to the HQ. " Batman said, interrupting the heavy silence that has fallen in the room.

Superman agreed and started walking back to the plane. The sound of their footsteps was the only sound and the echo made it worse. (Y/N) was sleeping on Superman's chest, clearly unaware of what was going on. Not even conscious.

Poor thing.

Superman waited outside the room with Conner. They waited for the doctor to check out (Y/N), to check if he was healthy. Superman prepared to be told that the boy had only a few days to live, but he knew that something that extreme was unlikely.

The doctor stepped out quietly, walking up to the two heroes.

" Well, the young one is okay. We tested his blood for drugs and a lot of other things. Thankfully he is negative for all of it. He is still sleeping so that is a good thing. He should wake up soon, can't say when though. But overall, he is healthy. " The doctor concluded, smiling at the two heroes.

The two heroes nodded, at ease now. That was important.

" When can we see him? " Conner asked.

" You can go in right now if you want. Just don't overwhelm him. " Doctor warned, looking down at the tablet. They both entered the room, watching the child as he slept.

It was an odd sight to see. The kid finally looked like a kid. Superman also looked like he is a little to small, but the doctors would make sure that he got the necessary nutrition.

" He looks small. " Conner said quietly, afraid that he is going to wake the small child up.

" I know. He looked bigger in the pod. " Clark said, just as quietly. Conner nodded in agreement. They stopped talking as the child started stirring, slowly opening his eyes.

" Who are you? " The child asked, rubbing his eyes.

" I'm Superman and this is Superboy. " Clark introduced them both to the child, who looked at them with outmost confusion. He looked down at the blanket covering him.

" What is all of this? " The little one asked, eyebrows scrunched together as his eyes roamed the room.

That one single question broke their hearts. Superboy was reminded a lot of his earliest days out of the pod.

" You are in the hospital. This is a place where people make sure you are 100 percent healthy. " Superboy explained, sitting down at the foot of the bed.

The child nodded, eyebrows still scrunched up.

" What's your name? " Superman asked, making the little one give him a blank look.

" A name? "

" Yes. My name is Clark and his is Conner. " Superman said, trying not to get emotional right now. This poor little one.

" I don't think I have one. " (Y/N) said and something glazed over his eyes. Superman moved closer, sitting on the opposite side of Conner at the foot of the bed.

" How about you chose a name for yourself? How about (Y/N)? " Conner suggested, making the little on scrunch his eyebrows one more.

" I like it. " (Y/N) declared.

" It's settled then. (Y/N) is the name. " Superman said, smiling at now (Y/N).

Conner smiled too. He knew that (Y/N) would be coming with them both. There was no doubt about it.

[kimberly-spirits13]

College Jon Kent x Reader HC

I’m not sure what I’d say Jon would major in

Maybe he’s planning on following in his mom’s footsteps of becoming a journalist but idk if he’d like that

So for simplicity sake, you meet in one of the core classes

You and Jon get partnered up for a civics project on the ethics of vigilantism

Jon has had a crush on you since day 1 and is actually kind of shy

He doesn’t want to embarrass himself but he totally is going to

He’s a dork

Wants to meet up in the quad or maybe a study room- not the type to bring you to his dorm on the first meeting 🤚

He gets to know your interests from little hints that you drop and researches them extensively

He did grow up with his mother

It helps that he can sometimes use his super hearing to hear the conversations you and your friends are having

You’ll mention a book or show that you like to someone and he’ll have binged it all

I think he has a high EQ so if you’re stressed about something he’d know before you do

Revealing the entire superboy gig was a bit of a mess

He’s tries to never be late but sometimes he is

I also think Kryptonians are awkward beings on earth simply because they’re trying to function along with weaker humans and not kill anyone

He accidentally reveals who he is by just lifting off the ground and going “Lex is being stupid again got to go”

Poor boy had take 5 exams that week and was running off of coffee and nothing else so he didn’t even realize what he had done

“JOHNATHAN KENT WHAT- WHAT- YOU GET DOWN HERE”

On comes the awkward explanation very quickly of everything before rushing off again to save the day

Yea Clark was not happy about that but at the same time it made him trust you more since he could be certain that Jon was comfortable around you to do that

Lois likes that you keep Jon in line

Make sure he’s going his work and sleeping well for her since she can’t do it herself all the time

He’s the guy to always wear his college sweatshirt because it’s easy

There’s very little effort to be made in running to the university bookstore and grabbing a t and sweatshirt

[stealingyourbones]

Submitted Prompts #158

Sorry if this isn’t the right place, I have only recently discovered this tumblr and am slowly working my way backwards through your dpxdc tag.  I think it might be an injoke here so uh, behold poor Yorick, totally not the human skull of Tchaikowsky fullfilling his actor dreams postmortem.

One of the posts in the tag was a dpxdc trope writing challenge. So I’m not sure if you’re interested in seeing blurb turned fic summary but here:

Nightwing learns of a travelling circus, Circus Gothica, that claims to have ‘The Real Flying Graysons performing from the beyond the grave’. Alternatively furious and hopeful he discretely goes to investigate, and finds himself overshadowed by one of Ringmaster Freakshows ghostly workers, stuck performing as an acrobat for the circus. As Nightwing struggles with his posession and reunion with seemingly the supposed ghosts of his parents, he finds an unlikely ally in Killer Croc/Waylon Jones, who had been kidnapped on his travels back to Gotham after having tried and failed to settle down in Swamp Things swamp.

Unfortunately the pairs cooperation ends shortly after freeing themselves and the completely unneccessary fight allows Freakshow and his assosciates to escape. Nightwing is determined to solve the case himself (and get justice for his dead parents and himself) causing tension between him and Batman who noted his disappearance.

Batman independently investigates,leading him to the Guys in White. Identifying them as an anti-meta group, he brings it to the attention of the Justice League in hopes of organising a legal solution - Superman takes it personally when one of the primary funders is revealed to be Lex Luthor.

Meanwhile Nightwing has tracked Freakshow to a bolthole/lair, where he comes across Val, a woman in a red jumpsuit, who had been following the trail of a different individual - a villain she calls Vlad Plasmius . The pair work together, Val freeing the ghosts in Freakshows control including the Greysons and Nightwing getting a cathartic takedown of both Freakshow and (with borrowed tech) Vlad.

Their partnership and the greater plot behind the villains actions goes over Nightwings head as he recognises 'not his circus, not his monkeys’ and opts to leave it to his new friend.

Meanwhile Clark Kent has discovered an odd exchange of info/money/tech between the GIW, Lex Luthor and a strange inventor who loudly proclaims that he is Technus. The end goal seems to be to create suits that will be secretly under Lex Luthors control capable of rivalling heroes, so as to supplant heroes as beloved protectors of the world, as a step in ridding the world of independent metas like superman and getting him his own private world army.

Also meanwhile Batman has continued to investigate GIW/Freakshow leading him to Amity Park, where he witnesses young adult Sam Manson inadvertently vitalise plants during a local eco protest. When persistent digging leads to learning about the overgrowth incident, Batman reaches out to Harley for her thoughts on how mentorhip might positively/negatively effect her struggling but mostly reformed partner Poison Ivy. Batman uses his Brucie Wayne persona to assist in organising an eco activism initiative (and plant meta power mentorship) with the Mansons, with Sam taking a guiding role.

Supermans battle against Lexs + Technus mediated ghost/meta power suits goes poorly and he calls in for rescue. Recognising the issues from his research in Amity, Batman 'borrows’ tech from the Fentonworks before going to the rescue.

With the day saved Batman returns to update his records on ghosts and store his new tech, finally leading to Nightwing explaining a bit of his experiences to add to the records.

The story ends on the cliffhanger of Danny getting screwed over by Batman’s improved antighost protections when he went to try track down and collect the stolen weapons.

I had fun with this : )

[necrotic-nephilim]

I’m gonna be honest I didn’t realize the new 52 messed with Kon that much till I read your post and now I can’t get over the potential. I’m a Tim/Kon girly at heart so I would devour anything you write exploring the 52 vs typical Kon. Also Time being in a clone sandwich is 👌.

the new-52 messed Kon up SO bad it's ridiculous. like, to the point i would personally argue he's a completely unrelated character to pre-Flashpoint/Rebirth Kon. his personality, his suit, his origin, all different. the only real similarities are the name and powerset. and even New-52!Kon's powers are slightly different from pre-Flashpoint!Kon. New-52!Kon is a clone of a future version of Jon Lane Kent, cloned by N.O.W.H.E.R.E. to provide genetic material to Jon Lane Kent, whose body was not handling being half human/half Kryptonian well, it was a whole thing. New-52!Kon is also where we get the infamous "Kon-El means 'abomination of the house of El' and Kara basically named him a slur in Kryptonian culture" tidbit, because that is the only time that's canon. (originally Kon-El was a name gifted by Clark to accept Kon as his family way back in the 90s) he also never went by Conner Kent. New-52!Kon just straight up didn't have any real human identity or connections, outside of being very close to Tim and some Titans.

the very TLDR of Kon's history is: during post-Crisis/pre-Flashpoint, a clone called Superboy is created by CADMUS. at first, he's considered to be a clone of a dude named Paul Westfield and is not Kryptonian whatsoever, he was simply made to look like Superman and only has Tactile Telekinesis as a power. then, it was made canon that actually he was a clone of Lex Luthor and Clark Kent, but Lex hid this fact and slowly, Kon developed more Kryptonian powers. he's given the name Kon-El by Clark, and is taken in by the Kents, getting the name Conner Kent. then Flashpoint happens, we get the New-52, and we're given the above version of Kon-El, who is a clone of Jon Lane Kent, created by N.O.W.H.E.R.E. who has mostly very strong telekinesis powers and some Kryptonian powers. he's with the Titans for a bit, then at the end of the New-52, he kills some aliens and feels bad about it so he decides to fuck off and is never seen again, it's presumed he's dead but never confirmed. then Rebirth happens and DC makes Jon Kent the current Superboy, we get Supersons and all that, and it's assumed that no version of Kon-El exists. just at all. he's not around whatsoever, Jon is our only Superboy. *but* in 2019, we get a new Young Justice run and the pre-Flashpoint Kon-El is back, and we're given the explanation of: Kon got accidentally teleported to this alternate realm called Gemworld and then Flashpoint happened, and since that was a Crisis Event that changed the timeline, the poor lad got *erased* from the timeline, causing most people to *not fucking remember him* and for him to remember a timeline that no longer exists. some of the Young Justice team vaguely remember him, Ma and Pa Kent remember him, but notably, Clark *does not remember him*. it's not an issue of "Clark ignored Kon in favor of Jon" it's an issue of "Kon was erased from the timeline and didn't exist for years bc he was stuck in Gemworld and Clark just doesn't remember Kon or Kon's timeline" which to me, is far more tragic but i digress. since then, Kon has been back and is present in most significant Superfamily runs, with his own recent mini-series, Superboy: Man of Tomorrow. (which was very good btw)

so basically: the New-52 fucked Kon up so bad they wrote him out of comics for years and then brought back the pre-Flashpoint version, but never *explicitly* killed the New-52 version off. so hypothetically, it's possible that there are currently two characters existing in the DC universe named Kon-El who have been Superboy. and like i said above, one of New-52!Kon's only real significant relationships was with Tim, it was the only thing the New-52 managed to get right about Superboy, his closeness to Tim. they have a *lot* of moments that read incredibly queer. and ofc, it's just outright confirmed in Dark Crisis: Young Justice that Tim had a crush on pre-Flashpoint!Kon at some point. so while comics are intent on pretending New-52!Kon doesn't exist, i am intent on putting Tim in a clone sandwich.

because i do think it's fun to play with Tim having genuine feelings and potentially a relationship with both of them. and the fucked up nature of him not fully *remembering* his relationship with pre-Flashpoint!Kon (which is a canon thing, in YJ(2019) Tim has vague memories of Kon he's struggling to piece together and understand why he cares about this guy he doesn't recognize so much) and how frustrating that is for Tim. he knows he loves Kon, but it's all foggy besides that. and so it's even *more* fucked up if Tim dated New-52!Kon before he got emo and ran off into the unknown. obviously in canon no one has told current Kon about New-52!Kon bc comics are doing the good ol' tried and true of "sweep that shit under the rug" but for fanfic, i think it's fun to ask the question of: would anyone *tell* Kon? especially Tim? who now remembers dating both versions of them? would he admit to Kon that briefly, he had another Kon? how would Tim cope with that and move on? personality wise, they could not be more different. they dress and act and look different. they're not the same person, but there's certainly a questionable factor of Tim's dating history including two Kon-Els.

the idea i've had for a while is Tim slowly starting to date pre-Flashpoint!Kon again. it feels familiar and like home. and Tim has grieved and accepted that wherever New-52!Kon is, he doesn't want to come home, he didn't love TIm enough to stay and try. so Tim takes the Kon he has, and genuinely has a happy relationship. like for once, life is good and things almost make sense for Tim. but then, of course, New-52!Kon comes back. he decides he wants to try again and he finds Tim. only to find well. he's been replaced. and technically, he's been replaced with the *original* that he didn't even know *existed*. and if being a clone is bad enough, that just makes it a hundred times worse. because imagine knowing you're actually the second Kon-El your boyfriend who you never *technically* broke up with fell in love with. that's gotta give you some kind of complex.

so i think it's fun if both Kons try to step back and let the other Kon date Tim. both of them have reasons to feel like the "replacement" or "fake" Kon, and it makes them incredibly awkward with each other. do they count as the same person? bc they definitely don't *feel* like the same person to each other, but with weird timeline stuff, who can really say. them settling on an awkward throuple that's really meant to be Tim just dating them both but somehow they end up dating each other too is so fun for me. they both feel like imposters to the Superboy name but are so deeply in love with Tim Drake, it's the one thing truly connecting them. and then of course, Tim feels bad in that somehow, he's betraying both of them for having feelings for the other. but they make it work, with a lot of awkward angst and miscommunication. i just think it'd be fun. very difficult to write to get all the weird timeline nuances down in a way that's understandable in a fanfic (bc you can't just. infodump like i did on this post) but doable. also difficult to tag, because even though i argue these are two different characters, i'm pretty sure Ao3 groups them under the same character tag. so it'd be difficult to convey it's not *really* as selfcest-y as it would imply. comics, man. DC will never acknowledge New-52!Kon again, and he's admittedly a terrible adaptation of Kon-El, but. i think he was sort of neat in his own right and i'd *love* for DC to just inexplicably bring him back and make the current Kon deal with the consequences of all that. and them make Tim kiss them both. obviously.

[zahri-melitor]

Look out, it's time for the Potted Fanon History of the one, the only...BRUCE WAYNE!

Bruce, 8: His parents were shot dead by [Someone/Joe Chill/the Mafia] outside the theatre in Park Row where they just saw Zorro. Kneeling in blood, pearls, etc etc.

Bruce, 8: Jim Gordon was the cop who responded to the scene and took care of Bruce.

Bruce, 8: Alfred takes custody of Bruce and they live in the Manor together.

Bruce, 12-16 (optional): Bruce attends school with people like Oliver Queen and Lex Luthor (at a boarding school), or Zatanna and Harvey Dent (at a regular Gotham school). Bruce is known as the cryptid who hides in the library reading forensic pathology textbooks in his free time.

Bruce, 16-18: Bruce finishes school and embarks on a Secret World Training Tour. Highlights of the Tour definitely involve the League of Assassins and probably several nameless monks. Bruce may have an intense homoerotic relationship with Minhkhoa Khan. The following individuals may be namechecked but are unlikely: [Shiva, David Cain, Henri Ducard, Richard Dragon]

Bruce, World Training Tour Edition: Bruce will first meet Talia at this time, and they may get married/conceive Damian. Do not look at the timeline too closely.

Bruce, early-mid 20s: returns to Gotham, is reminded that he is scared of bats. "Yes father, I will become...a Bat!"

Bruce, early-mid 20s: has encounter with An Individual (name varies, solidifying to 'Red Hood' these days as everyone's hung up on Jason) in the ACME Chemical company vats, the other person falls into the chemicals. The Joker is born hahahahahahahHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Bruce, mid 20s: meets Superman and Clark Kent, they simultaneously figure each other's identities out. Shortly after they form the Justice League with Wonder Woman.

Bruce, mid 20s: Bruce goes out for the night to see Haly's Circus when it visits town. Graysons fall, Bruce sees crying kneeling Dick Grayson and immediately imprints on him and takes him home.

Bruce, mid 20s: Dick Grayson becomes Bruce's Ward (TM). Dick also becomes Robin. They swear an Oath (TM) by candlelight to "fight together against crime and corruption and never to swerve from the path of righteousness!" (Actually I don't think the words of the oath are that well known but I couldn't help myself)

Bruce, mid 20s: has many undetailed adventures with Dick. I cannot reinforce how big a blank hole this period is.

Bruce, early 30s ish: Bruce runs into Talia and sleeps with her again (as written by people who CAN count to 10)

Bruce, 30s: Dick gets injured during a fight. Maybe with Joker, maybe with Two-Face, quite possibly with no details. Bruce tries to ground Dick for his own good. Bruce and Dick have a big fight over Dick being an adult now and you can’t tell me what to do. End result: Dick is no longer Robin and moves out (to Blüdhaven). Bruce immediately sulks.

Bruce, 30s: Batman parks his Batmobile in the middle of Crime Alley and comes back to find the tyres being jacked. The teenager attempting this then hits Batman with a tyre iron. Bruce, missing Dick yelling at him, is immediately charmed and takes Jason home and proceeds to instantly adopt him and make him Robin.

Bruce, 30s: Bruce learns about classism from Jason. Bruce Wayne, a man with the biggest charities running in Gotham, years of criminology experience and who travelled the poorest parts of the world in his quest for training, had never contemplated that poor people commit crime because they’re poor and the laws are against them. This rocks his world.

Bruce, 30s: Bruce fails to call Dick to tell him about his new adopted Jason!Robin. Dick comes over to have a screaming match with Bruce in the Manor/Cave about this. These will be a regular feature of Jason’s entire time as Robin.

Bruce, late 30s: Felipe Garzonas occurs. Bruce accuses Jason of killing Garzonas. Bruce will shortly feel intense guilt for this.

Bruce, late 30s: Jason runs away to Ethiopia and is blown by the Joker in a warehouse. Bruce arrives just out of time, to find Jason's body. He is devastated and blames both himself and Jason. He takes Jason's body back to Gotham where there is an autopsy. Joker just disappears with no trace.

Bruce, late 30s: gets more and more violent in his despair over Jason's death. Tim comes to him to explain why Batman is going off the rails and offers to be Robin.

Bruce, middle aged (don't look too closely): Bruce accepts Tim as his new Robin, however insists they are Just Coworkers. He may still be suicidal at times. He probably calls Tim 'Jason' by accident. He insists he never wants to be close to another child again.

Bruce, middle aged: Bruce comes face to face with Bane, who Breaks His Back (TM). Bruce then recovers. This is a very important moment, however any details of the recovery or who was Batman in the interim are unknown. Good job, Gotham healthcare services set up by Thomas Wayne!

Bruce, middle aged: Bruce becomes worried about Tim's parents (as he's reluctantly become attached to Tim). They are never around, which is how Tim manages to be Robin. They are definitely neglecting him. They might be abusing him! Bruce either fosters Tim because of his terrible neglectful parents OR Janet dies and Jack ends up in a coma and Bruce fosters Tim. Either way, Bruce becomes Tim's guardian.

Bruce, middle aged: there's a new crime lord in Gotham called the Red Hood. Batman must track him down. Bruce discovers that this is Jason. Jason begs for Bruce to kill the Joker to avenge his death and Bruce refuses because He Has A Code. Bruce throws a batarang at Jason's neck and slits his throat.

Bruce, JLA edition: at some point Bruce made some Protocols, or possibly some Killer Robots, just in case someone else on the Justice League goes evil. The rest of the Justice League find this out, due to this situation going wrong and the plans being activated by something. Everyone on the Justice League gets very upset with Bruce.

Bruce, middle aged: at some point Bruce adopts Dick and Tim and Cass. Details of when or where are scanty. They're his kids now. Everyone moves into the Manor (except Dick, who visits from Bludhaven every weekend to see his siblings).

Bruce, middle aged: Talia drops Damian off on the doorstep. Bruce now has a (biological) son! Unfortunately Ra's Al Ghul wants to steal his body. Damian must be protected.

Bruce, middle aged: dies. How does this happen? What are you, a cop? Fortunately Bruce being ultraprepared for anything including incipient death, he has left extensive notes about who deals with what when he's dead. Dick gets custody of Damian (but only Damian). Tim gets Wayne Enterprises.

Bruce, middle aged: returns from being lost in time (not dead). Thanks, Tim. No I will not return to being the main Batman in Gotham or take back Wayne Enterprises, it's time for me to travel the world and create Batman Incorporated in every nation on Earth!

Bruce, middle aged: eventually returns home and moves back into the Manor. Damian is now his Robin. Everyone else may still be living in the Manor, may have moved out because of Sad Conflict Drama because Tim feels like he's Just A Coworker or Cass is In Hong Kong. Dick may or may not return to Bludhaven now.

Bruce, middle aged: begins to reconcile with Jason, because he finds out about Jason's Pit Rage and trauma. Jason promises to use Rubber Bullets or to just shoot people in the knee, and says he will patrol Crime Alley because nobody else understands it and the people inside it like him. Bruce is just fine with this.

Bruce, middle aged (Damian edition): Damian dies. Bruce is extremely distraught about this due to his trauma over Jason and immediately works to hunt down a way to resurrect Damian.

Bruce, middle aged: meets Duke and seeing another teenager who is trying to fight crime, immediately brings him home to foster/adopt.

Bruce, Good Dad edition: at some point Bruce has Seen A Therapist and gotten Therapy. He is now completely au fait with the latest things you read online about complex PTSD and is sorry for the hurt he has ever caused any of his children. He goes around talking his children down from disassociation and panic attacks and nightmares. He wraps them up in weighted blankets and watches TV shows You Like with them. He has a new Ace, who is a Therapy Dog for Trauma. When someone has a bad night the entire family sleeps in his giant bed as a sleepover. He is completely focused on the mental health of his children.

Bruce, Bad Dad edition: Bruce has punched Dick/Jason/Tim/Damian (choose whichever set you want) in the face and accused them of not following orders. He has rages and demanding expectations on everyone. Multiple of his children can no longer put up with it any more. He does bad things to them and says it's for their own good.

Bruce, currently: Bruce is a Good Dad! Everyone is either living at the Manor or stays over after patrol regularly. They have regular movie nights. Bruce is actively running Wayne Enterprises. If he sees an unattached teenage vigilante anywhere he might adopt them and bring them home too! He looks after all the associated Gotham vigilantes and does not know what money is worth. This is hilarious as he tips 3000% or whatever on every purchase.

Bruce, currently (alternatively): Bruce is a Bad Dad! After failing his children nobody wants to be near him and he needs to apologise to all his children so they forgive him. Bruce has left Damian for Dick to raise all by himself (that's ok, Dick is really Damian's adoptive dad) and Tim to struggle with the pressure of being a high school dropout CEO of Wayne Enterprises. He is fighting with Jason over the One Killing Rule and won't compromise, even to kill the Joker, despite Jason desperately wanting that proof that Bruce loves him more than he loves the killing rule.

Bruce, currently: Bruce is dating one of Selina, Talia, Clark or Minhkhoa. Whichever on this list he is dating, he would never ever consider getting with Selina and/or Talia again (delete whoever necessary).

[whenthemarshmallowmettheslayer]

My thoughts on Smallville 1x08 “Jitters.”

Confession: I watched this episode the other night.  I’m watching it again because I enjoyed it so much. Okay, now that I’ve said that onto the episode. 

I drag on the Smallville writers (for context I’ve been ranting about the show on several discord servers I’m on) but I want to compliment here in these opening scenes. The writers are showing the Kents are poor instead of simply telling it or simply having Lex offer a loan one episode and then never showing the Kents financial issues again. We actually get to see how oh, Kents don’t have money to spare. We see this in how Johnthan fixes the truck himself instead of going to an auto mechanic. We see this in how Martha is going to handle a plumbing issue herself instead of calling a plumber. 

A small detail I like that makes this house feel lived in is how there's several cabinet doors left open that we can see behind Clark when he’s opening the fridge. I have a habit of opening cabinets, grabbing what I need, and completely forgetting to close them until a minute or more has passed. And then it’s ‘oh shit, I’ve got to close that.’ 

Also is it just an universal farmer thing for farmers to own a truck with a toolbox on the back? Because my great grandfather was a farmer and he had a truck with a toolbox in the back just like how Johnthan does. 

Jonathan: “I’m definitely raising your allowance.” 

Some thoughts here. 1.) Clark probably isn’t going to get that allowance raise after the party. 2.) We know Clark does the work of several farm hands - even though he’s juggling school - because this is mentioned in the episode the Kents needed a loan so my question is where does that saved money go? Is it given to Clark’s allowance? Is money the Kents keep to pay for stuff they need? Is it set aside for Clark’s college fund or for his first car? Looking back knowing what I do now…. Jonathan probably should have let Clark keep that truck. The Kents can’t afford a new car for their son and even if they go with an older car they’re still going to have to pay for repairs unless the used car is still in dealership warranty. But Jonathan was too prejudiced to accept it because of who Lex’s father was. I could understand vetoing the truck if Lionel was the one who gave it but it was Lex. I just **shrugs** I’ve got thoughts on Jonathan - I like him but he frustrates me - and I don’t know how to convey them so moving on. 

Clark”....It’s a couple nights at Metropolis-”

That party of Clark’s was selfish. I understand that the Kents had to return early because of the plot but the in-universe reason they came back early is because they called several times the night of the party. Clark never answered but other people - people who told the Kents they didn’t know Clark - did. They left their trip after one day. I've got mixed feelings about this. Cause on one hand they deserve to celebrate their anniversary but at the same time they have to spend several hundreds of dollars on this trip because they’re staying at a hotel for several days and meals. That’s not counting any activities like going to movies, going to see a play, going shopping, or whatever. And it just leaves a bad taste in my mouth because what two episodes ago they were talking about a bad loan Jonathan accepted. I just they should spend money on themselves but at the same they were going to spend a pretty penny on this trip before they came back earlier. 

Is Earl going to hold a bunch of teenagers and a man hostage this episode? Yes. Do I want to hug him? Also yes. So far Earl and Jodi are the only villain of the week characters I have empathy for. I was really happy last night to learn Lex is getting him medical help. Until canon states otherwise I’m going to hope Earl eventually gets to live with his family. 

Janitor dude: “Earl see that's the talk that got yourself canned. Now, if you got as problem get some help.” 

Dude. With what health insurance?! This is America. Also those doctors likely can’t do shit because they don’t know what caused the issue. There is also the fact that meteor rocks are volatile. There are no rules and regulations on how it is handled. And like most rules and regulations they’re gonna be written in blood. 

Sidenote: I like how it’s established that Earl has a family. If he dies then not only does his wife lose her spouse but she will be a single mother. Earl is fighting to get answers so he can be in his wife and child’s lives. Also I wonder if meteor mutation can be passed onto children. I know Earl’s kid is too old for this to happen but I wonder about this in general. 

I’ve ranted about this multiple times but whoever worked in costume and design in this show deserves a fucking raise. Why? Because they are telling us the Kents aren’t well off with money. Clark is constantly wearing the same articles of clothing throughout the show instead of a new piece every time we see him. This book bag in this scene looks like the same bookbag from earlier this season. (Martha - she’s not in this scene but I’m bringing her because I’m talking about the costume and design team being great - often wears the same grey coat.) Chloe and Lana meanwhile have a wider selection of outfits. Lex meanwhile - I’m not even going to talk about colors yet - has driving gloves. It’s such a small detail but it says a lot. It says Lex has money to spend because most people don’t own driving gloves. Driving gloves aren’t needed in this time period the way they were in the past because of early steering wheels. Driving gloves are not a necessity nor are they common. Yet Lex spent money on them which shows he has money to spend on his interests in sports cars. Also Lex is often seen wearing purple. Purple is a color associated with royalty and wealth. Fun fact: there was a time where only Roman emperors could wear Tyrian purple. 

Okay back to the show. Who invited all these people? I know Clark didn’t. Maybe Lex? I know Lex is behind the fireworks. 

Lana has this thing of politely calling out implications of her love life and it’s so funny to me. I did not remember this trait of hers from when I watched the show as a kid. I do wonder why Lana abruptly stopped wearing her necklace. 

I know the show is trying to set us up to like Lana/Clark but I don’t like the pairing already. Lana is painted as this nice girl - she’s friends with non popular kids (nevermind we’re just told this instead of actually seeing Lana and future villains of the week hanging out in the background before the x villain of the week episode), she’s interested in breaking apart from the expectations people have of her, she’s against academic cheating, she’s willing to tutor people for free, and so on. The thing is. She is one of the two characters outside of Clark and football players who know Whitney kidnapped Clark, stripped him, and tied him up in a pole where Clark stayed for hours. And she’s still with this guy. I just. I admit I ship Clex and those two are going to be a mess as the show progresses but the thing is Lex calls out Clark’s bullshit (which I don’t always think all of Clark’s bullshit is actually bullshit but that’s not the point). Clark calls out Lex’s bullshit (which again I don’t think Lex’s bullshit is actually bullshit but again not the point). It feels more even because they are critical of each other. Where as Clark never has a moment of ‘Lana knows what her boyfriend did to me and she’s still in a romantic relationship with him despite calling me her friend. Do I really want to be with her?’ I feel like Clark and the show itself puts Lana on a pedestal. I hope that the shows allows these two characters to be critical of each other since they’re eventually going to be canon relationship.

Chloe:”It’s a class field trip.” 

Lex: “What did you do wrong?” 

Kid me did not understand Lex was the funniest character on the show. (Clark is the second funniest btw.) 

Lex has a type and it’s brunettes. This lady, Victoria, Desiree, Helen, and Lana. If Lionel’s goon - I feel like his name starts with d but I’m not sure - from an earlier episode has the same hair color as his sister then her too because the goon had brown hair. 

Also I like how the plumbing issue from earlier is brought up again. 

Clark: “I’m officially dead” 

Lol. Clark you’ve been dead. 

I love that we’re getting background on Martha. Johnthan is so enamored by his wife. 

Lana: “It was kind of last minute. I didn’t realize I needed your permission.” 

I get mixed feelings about these two. (Sidenote: I respect Whitney asking Lana to come outside instead of arguing in front of everyone.) Because on one hand Lana has a right to hang out with her friends without inherently telling her boyfriend. On the other hand Lana has a history of not telling Whitney she’s hanging out with Clark - a previous occasion being a limo ride to a concert in the city. Lana is aware Clark has feelings for her. She is aware Lex - a friend of Clark - keeps trying to pouch them together. Lana has admitted she’s defended that  limo event with Clark to her aunt. Whitney is not being paranoid. I can understand why he doesn’t like this. 

Whitney: “So you sneak off to a party without me?” 

Lana: “I didn’t sneak off - I walked.” 

I don’t even fucking like Whitney but I’m on his side on this. Lana was being sneaky by not telling him. 

Lana: “I’m starting to get the feeling you don’t trust me.” 

I mean you didn’t tell him about the limo even until you thought Clark ditched you. 

I find interesting in this episode Whitney relies or tries to rely on Clark twice in regards to handling potential threats. 

Chloe: “This guy should be in a detox center.” 

Chloe there are multiple reasons why he could be having body tremors even without taking into consideration this is smallville. 

Chloe: “Then why was he shaking like a junkie?” 

Was Chloe’s mom a drug addict? From what I remember Gabe is single handedly raising her. 

Clark: “I kept snapping the guitar strings. I think Earl got sick of replacing them.” 

But he replaced them more than once. He still tried to teach Clark even though Clark broke strings of the instrument. I just find this moment says a lot about Clark and Earl. I wish we could see these two interacting outside of this episode. 

Clark: “He was like family.” 

I want to hug him. 

Clark call a lawyer damn it. Preferably one who does a contingent fee basis work or someone Lex would recommend. 

I’m surprised no one tried to get medical staff to look over Clark after he went through that glass. 

Whoever decided to have Kent parents watch Clark clean and then clap is a comedic genius. Also Clark honey why would you not shut and lock the door before using your super speed? 

I’ve complained about how the writers don’t show Clark having empathy before but they did it right here. Clark spent all night at that hospital because of Earl even though he had a house to clean. 

Doctor: “I pulled the plant’s safety records. I checked with OSHA and the EPA.” 

Ma’am. How did you get all of that so soon? 

I know there are cameras in this building. How come no one notices Clark super speeding? I can begrudgingly suspend my suspension of belief that Lex doesn’t have cameras at home - I still need to know what happened to the guy that froze in the pond in Lex’s backyard - but we see cameras in this building. You mean to tell me that Lionel nor Lex wasn’t curious about how Clark was already away from the group and running around unsupervised. Like even without a hostage situation I feel like someone would check the cameras on just Clark wandering around by himself.  

Once again Martha is wearing that grey coat. I love the costume and design crew on this show. 

How the fuck did no one notice Clark speeding around? 

Clark, you have x ray vision. 

Earl: “Just like everybody else.” 

I’m gonna defend Clark here. He’s the only person willing to investigate Level Three even though Jonathan had also interacted with Earl. Jonathan who constantly is suspicious of Luthors (I think in the Bug Boy episode he makes a comment about the Luthor plant infecting people) isn’t willing to look into this. Clark, who is friends with Lex, was willing to investigate even though it could potentially cause an issue between him and Lex. He was willing to hear Earl out and search for Level Three even before there were hostages involved. (Side note: moments like this I can see why Clark grew up and became a reporter. Though I hope to see Clark taking an interest in the school newspaper in this or the next seasons.) That said, I can understand why Earl made this comment. He’s been gaslighted about Level Three. He is also being told that level doesn’t exist because there are people who genuinely don’t know about Level Three is a thing. He’s being treated like he’s crazy even though he’s having these powerful body tremors from the incident in Level Three. I can understand why he’s pissed off at Clark but Clark is genuinely trying to help him. 

Lionel: “How did you allow this to happen?”

Lionel has a brilliant actor. Lionel is a nasty, intelligent villain which I like because I don’t tend to enjoy dumb ones. That said, this character makes me furious. Gee, asshole. Maybe if Lex was given a warning he could have been better equipped to prevent this. 

Lionel: “Lex! How did you allow this to happen?” 

Lex: “I didn’t allow anything.” 

Lionel: “Then how did this man get inside?” 

Lex: “I think-” 

Lionel: “You think? Why don’t you know Lex!” 

Lionel is one of those parents who even if you have a justified reason why x happened it doesn’t matter. Lionel isn’t asking how this happened out of genuine interest of knowing. He asked so he can lecture. If he truly cared he would allow Lex to continue speaking after Lex said “I didn’t allow anything” and wouldn’t interrupt Lex when he’s saying “I think.” Also I love how Lex’s actor plays this scene because at one point when Lionel is yelling at him Lex lowers his head. Lowering your head like that is usually a sign of submission but also it could mean you feel threatened and you’re protecting your throat. The first one is common but I’m not throwing out the latter because I remember from when I watched the show as a kid that Lionel was physically abusive to Lex. 

Lex’s expression at Lionel offering his hand to Johnthan makes me curious. Is Lex wary of his father knowing the Kents? Does he find it weird that Lionel is offering to shake hands with Johnthan? 

Lionel: “Of course it is.” 

I love Lionel’s actor. Lionel has interrupted Lex throughout this scene but Lex asking about Level Three isn’t interrupted nor is Lex lectured for even entertaining the “deluded” theory that the man holding teenagers and a Luthor employee as hostages believes in. There’s even these few seconds where Lionel doesn’t answer. And it’s so telling. 

Martha: “What about the kids? You need to get on the phone and talk to him!” 

I wonder when Lionel will start to be attracted to Martha. 

Lionel: “But…I do not negotiate with terrorists.” 

Negotiate being the key word. I wonder if Lex picked up on this. I do think he picked up Lionel’s response earlier as off. 

This episode is heartbreaking because in another universe Lex could have been a hero. I don’t think he’ll necessarily have the drive to go be a vigilante but I think Lex could have been a damn good hero if he decided to be. Now would he be a manipulative one? Absolutely. But **gestures at Batman** 

Lex **insert handshake emoji** me. We both don’t like being abruptly touched by family. 

I wish that Clark would hear this speech and think about it later when Lex is being hugged by his dad and is staring at the Kents in yearning. Clark is a teenager - who has a lot of weight on his shoulders - but I just wish that he recognized Lionel was abusive to Lex. A lot of the fandom blames Clark for Lex’s downfall. I however have a different opinion. Lionel is the main person outside of Lex to be blamed. I know what it’s like to be raised in an abusive environment and growing up in an abusive household may explain things but there comes a time where we are all responsible for our own decisions. Lex is responsible for his actions but if we are going to put blame on another character for the path Lex goes down I say Lionel is to blame. I think Clark played a role - though I’ve got opinions on this topic I’m not going to ramble about it just yet because I need to hurry up and finish this but I will be ranting about my mixed feelings later - but Lionel was abusive shit. 

Lex: “Yeah, it’s in his imagination. There is no Level Three Clark. Now get out of here.” 

The acting in this episode is phenomenal. I like how Clark is showing signs of feeling unwell as Earl draws near. There’s no physical signs of meteor poisoning - aka the green veins - or music to convey the meteor is affecting Clark but Clark’s actor is doing his part to convey Earl getting closer to him makes him sick. Also does Lex genuinely believe that or did he notice how off Lionel was acting but doesn’t have actual proof of Level Three nor does he have time to truly look for it with Earl so he’s just letting Clark believe there never was a chance for Lex to be saved? Lex is just one of those characters where I’m sometimes never sure what he’s actually thinking. And honestly it’s nice because I often can figure out what characters’ motivations are in situations. 

How the fuck does no one notice Clark using his super speed on the cameras. 

I want to hug Pete. Poor kid is blaming himself. 

God I love the Kents pretending they have no idea what’s going on. 

Lex must be so curious. Because not only did Clark magically find Level Three - somehow the wall covering the elevator has been smashed. I feel like the wall being smashed would be less interesting to Lex - he already suspects Clark is stronger than natural - than how Clark somehow managed to find it. 

Lex probably is hating his dad right now. Which is completely valid. 

Earl: “How am I going to get better if I don’t know what’s poisoning me?” 

I’m so tempted to write a fic where Clark reveals the meteor rock is what is harming Earl. We know Clark sees Earl like family - Clark has said this but he’s also shown it in his actions - but he’s not willing to tell Earl the truth. Also I wonder if Earl will go the same hospital Amy Adam’s character went to…

I find it interesting that Lex - who is in a hostage situation - is taking time to tell Clark he didn’t know about this place. His life is in the balance and he doesn’t want Clark to think he lied to him. Lex doesn’t even know Clark is close to Earl to the point he considers the man family - he only knows Earl used to work on the farm. Yet he doesn’t want Clark thinking he lied. 

Earl: “He’s lying. He's just like his father.” 

I don’t drink but I want to say if I took a shot every time a character said Lex was just like Lionel I would probably have liver poisoning before the season ends. 

Clark: “...I don’t know. Adrenaline, I guess.” 

Okay, so here's the thing. I’ve read fics where this line is mentioned in a negative light either because it’s a bad lie or it was bad of Clark to lie. I don’t think Clark is lying though. I think Clark went through an episode of hysterical strength. There are times where humans have abnormal strength for a period of time in order to save someone’s life - there was a case in like 1980s I believe where a mom lifted a car that had fallen on her son. Anyway, throughout this episode we’ve seen Clark become sick when near Earl. It is so bad that Clark would not agree to help Whitney attempt to attack Earl. Yet when Clark’s friend and someone he considers as family have their lives in danger Clarkl manages to find the strength to pull them up. So I don’t think Clark is actually lying. 

Ledx staring at Kents being happy Clark is safe - that they’re giving him a hug because they actually want to instead of for publicity - makes me want to cry. Also another reason this scene is sad is Lionel grabbed Lex by the arm earlier and Lex told his dad to never do that again. And Lionel here is hugging Lex - which is much more contact than grabbing an arm - for publicity reasons instead of respecting Lex’s wishes. I also think Lionel hugs Lex to prevent Lex from declaring anything else in front of the press that Lionel doesn’t want. 

This episode is my favorite episode so far. I feel like it’s going to be a favorite even after I’ve rewatched multiple seasons. 

[moistvonlipwig]

sorry, i resisted for a long time but the send me a show ask meme: cwsg 😅

please don't resist i am still without my computadora and need some enrichment in my enclosure!!!

looping in @yourlocalegotisticalqueerishere who also asked for sg!

The first character I fell in love with: Probably Lena.

The character who is my 'baby': Streaky!!! 🐈🐾

The character who I do not understand: I genuinely do not understand ANY of the writing decisions they made around William. Why was he like that. Why were we supposed to want him to get together with Kara. Why did he pretend to be married. Why did he die. Why did he vlog his death and email it to Andrea instead of, like, calling for help. Why did his offscreen girlfriend not bother showing up to his funeral. These questions will haunt me forever.

The character that I think the show ruined: Many such cases 🥴 They really did poor Mon-El dirty, his comics counterpart could've been adapted in so many cool ways but instead they did That. Additionally, while I think Lex is used well in S4 and isn't truly overexposed to the point of ruination until S5 and S6, I nevertheless think that the character S2 implied him to be -- a good person & brother who slowly became corrupted by his obsession with Superman -- is much more interesting than the always-evil character we got in S4. Also, post-Crisis Lillian felt less complex to me, and S6 was the final nail in the coffin, with her dying to save Lex instead of Lena and also with the bizarre 'she encouraged Lena to go into STEM to lure her away from magic' retcon.

The most attractive male and female character: Most attractive guy is Manchester Black. I mean, c'mon, it's David Ajala, my favorite Star Trek prettyboy. Most attractive female character...it probably is Lena just because Katie McGrath has such a magnetic screen presence. Honestly though there's a lot of pretty people on this show.

The character death that was the worst for me: Manchester Black...why'd they hafta do him like that :(

The character that is the most like me: Brainy my best friend Brainy!!! ...Also Nia, largely because we're close in age.

The character I think the writer(s) love: Lex 🥴

The character that I just want to be happy: Lena, and per the finale she is, which is good, even if I didn't love every part of how we got there.

My four favorite characters, past or present: Lena Luthor, Querl Dox, Clark Kent, and mm idk I'm feeling James Olsen today.

My four least favorite characters, past or present: Mon-El, Ben Lockwood, Overgirl, and idk William or Winn or Lex or any of the other members of the rotating circus of misogynists they kept trotting out before us.

[thisiswhereikeepdcthings]

I can't stand a good two-thirds of superbat content because so much of it is "blushy awkward sunshine beam Superman x angsty sexy always-in-control edgelprd Batman" and I'm just like

Have they even read the comics? Or watched the shows or movies? Or played the games? Anything involving these two that isn't fanworks?

Clark Kent is many things, but he’s not a pushover. He's fundamentally kind and good, but his timidity and nervousness is for the most part an act. He's no stranger to fumbles and fuck-ups, but he can absolutely handle himself in a situation. Lest we forget, he's a married man with a child, in a steady career, he leads the fucking Justice League, he's the standard to which all other heroes hold themselves. Clark Kent is gentle, but only because he can afford to be. He isn't just called Superman, he embodies everything that title implies. (Also, he can absolutely be a total bitch sometimes. He can hold his own in a verbal spar as well as a physical one. Let him cuss out Lex Luthor.)

And for Bruce... poor Bruce. People take the "master planner" aspect of his character and act like that makes him a grand chessmaster, when in most iterations it's a coping mechanism, plans upon plans upon plans in case something goes catastrophically wrong. It's a man permantly caught in the Bargaining stage, who can only see the worst possible outcome and sadly keeps getting proven right. At his core Batman is a lonely person, desperate to love and be loved yet shutting himself away from those who want to be a part of his life. It's no coincidence that he has the most children and sidekicks, when he both wants to protect children by keeping them under his wings and by pushing them away from him and from danger.

And the two of them are such interesting foils! A man rising above his limits to be the avenging knight for a broken city, who somehow befriends the shining beacon of truth, justice, and the American Way. Two people who started off with an intense distrust and paranoia who learned to open their hearts and accept someone so fundamentally different, yet somehow so perfectly mirroring them. They're best friends and rivals and sometimes enemies and each other's contingency plans and co-leaders and none of this contradicts with anything else because how could it, it's as natural as a heartbeat.

TL;DR, I'm tired of people taking a complex and multifaceted friendship that had the potential for a deep and powerful romance spanning decades and turning it into yaoi-lite.

Nothing to add, just…yeah

[is-jan-jan-is]

Dawn of Dc fucking slaps my dudes.

I've been meaning to make a post about the Dawn of Dc for quite a while but haven't due to depression and 80 hour work weeks.

My pull box used to be one third marvel, one third dc and one third indie. Nowadays, with marvel focusing on more of those godawful movies it's producing more and more garbage. Meanwhile, dc-who has been struggling since the 90s-seems to have found its stride. My box is honestly two thirds dc and one third indie.

I've maybe three or four marvel titles. Captain marvel, mckay's avengers run and ewing's thor. I did also pick up Sentry but havent read it yet. I was about to deep dive into the fall of the house of x stuff but the whole 'Genocide' storyline is in bad taste to say the fucking least. With last year's Symbol of Truth sam wilson run over i dont have much more marvel stuff catching my eye.

Meanwhile I'm collecting most of dc's catalog. The Dawn of Dc rebrand has been phenomenal through and through. Part of it is due to color coding which my autism especially likes. Mostly, it's great storytelling.

Here is how I would rate the Dawn of Dc titles I've been collecting so far on a scale of 'bruh' to 'BRUH'(all of the ratings are made up terms):

*******Spoilers*********

Jon Kent Adventures of Superman: absolute banger...if not a tad formulaic. If seems poetic to have Jon kent-a product of Joshua Williamson- fight injustice superman-a product of Dan Didio. Dan famously hated legacy characters and loved the idea of fascist superman so-get fucked Dan. 11/10 because he beats him with a hug

Action Comics: fuck yeah dawg. It's been great. The wholesome super family shenanigans, the inclusion of Kenan (finally) on top of just damn good story telling. 10/10 would super again.

Superman: BRUH. So, after years of piss poor 'superman' books we get the warworld saga (certified banger) followed up with this delightful story from Josh Williamson. All of the classic villains get the correct treatment. Lex, parasite, banshee-with the current 'Chained' reveal. Im so glad somebody understands how to write superman. This has genuinely become a title i look forward to every week. 10.5/10

Superboy Man of Tomorrow: Certified Banger. Listen, Connor Kent was the first love of my life. 90 percent of my personality is Teen titans and Young Justice was always my favorite flavor of teen titans. Either way I was always going to love a boom about Connor Kent. That said: this book is pretty good. It clearly skews young as far as its obvious intended audience but it was still fun.

Steel: CERT-FIED BANG-ER! God I love Worf. I'm glad that my boy Steel is getting the proper treatment. Michael Dorn does a damn good job. It was a good run, just read the last one (6 out of 6) today.

Powergirl: fuck yeah dawg. I love powergirl, and this series is not as annoyingly thirsty as previous stories. She's presented as a complex yet baddass character. Her motives are complex and her actions are badass. I also like that she's part of the super family officially.

Blue Beetle: Certified Banger. Pretty damn good. Once again it's a tad formulaic but still a fun read. 8/10

Green Arrow: Certified Banger! Pretty damn good, tbh. I love the fact that my boii Roy Harper is back. Pretty strong familial vibes all around. 9.5/10

Green lantern: bruh. Listen, I only picked up this title originally because it held the preview to John Stewart's 'War Journal'. Its well done, don't get me wrong. Jeremy Adam's is an asset to D.C. at this point. Quality wise, it's a knockout. Unfortunately, it's also Hal Jordan. He's as much of an unbearable p.o.s. as he's ever been. 6/10.

Green Lantern War Journal: BRUH!!! Fucking Slaps. John Stewart is back at it in an incredibly endearing story. I was really interested to see where they would take it after Gregory Thorne basically made my boii a demigod. The ultraviolet corps are super interesting and the b plot with his mother is heart wrenching. 100/10

Green Latern Alan Scott: fuck yeah dawg. Pretty good. Love the gay representation. Been meaning to get back into JSA stuff. Haven't read the huntress or sandman stuff yet but might after this.

Hawkgirl: absolute banger. Ngl, they kinda phoned in the antagonist but that's ok. Its a fun read about a cool character we've always wanted more content on anyways. Also Jadzia is god tier. 8/10

Wonder Woman: BRUH!!! I've never been a huge fan of Diana honestly but this story had me hooked from the beginning. It's a complex, heartfelt political intrigue. Tom King can do NO wrong. 20/10

Birds of Prey: absolute banger. Super fun to read. I definitely look forward to it every month. I love cass and I love barda so- 11/10

Batman and Robin: bruh. Listen, I love Joshua Williamson but all the love in the world won't make me tolerate Bruce fucking Wayne. After the catastrophic mess that was the Gotham War event we get this run by Joshy boii and Simone DiMeo. It's a decent little story which I follow only to ensure that Robin is OK. The breakout star of this title for me was DiMeo's art. It's so kinetic! Honestly, the art is the only reason this isn't a 0/10. That said...6.5/10

Outsiders: Fuck yeah dawg! The this series only has two issues out so far but it's been fun. I love Kate abd Luke respectively and together they are lots of fun. Also this title seems to lean in to the whole 'superhero fatigue' thing. So fuck yeah! 8/10

Nightwing: BRUH!! Tom Taylor has been in charge of what is honestly the best Superhero title on the market for the past couple years-and its Nightwing. His Grayson is charming, endearing and resilient: All of the good qualities of his deadbeat dad without any of the bullshit brooding and class warfare. This Dawn of Dc title feels different because it's less a relaunch and more a continuation. It's a super interesting deep dive into the BludHaven lore that Taylor began teasing years ago. Also pirate Dick Grayson-90/10

Titans: BRUH. 10/10 MY BOIIS (boiis is gender neutral) ARE ALL GROWN UP!! THEY'RE IN CHARGE. THEY RUNNING SHIT NOW. Seriously it's very good.

Titans/Beast World: heartbreaking but ill allow it. Crossover events are always iffy, we'll see where this goes. So far-7/10

Cyborg: fuck yeah dawg! I love cyborg and I love to see him getting his own title. It's been a good one and I can't wait for the finale next month. 9/10

Flash: BRUH! So far it's a very good Wally story but we're only a few issues deep. I like the Linda subplot. 9.5/10

Speed force: fuck yeah dawg. MAS AND MINOS ARE BACK!!!!! listen I was almost ready to write this series off as another story pandering to the youth. There is a Panel wherein someone describes the scene as 'bad vibes' and is told-'bet'-in response. That said, Joshy boii is clearly happy to be writing Wallace and Avery again AND MAS AND MINOS ARE FINALLY CANNON LETTSSSSS GOOOO!!!! 7/10

Jay Garrick Flash: fuck yeah dawg! Pretty good so far. I love Jay. Love the addition to his family. 7/10

Spirit World: BRUH! Crazy fucking good. I ADORE the way this title handles deadnames. Cassie, Envoy and John make a pretty good team and this depiction of the afterlife is really neat and engaging. 15/10

City Boy: BRUH! A+ for originality dudes. I love this character's motivation, powers and personality. This title genuinely makes a positive impact on the overall dc universe. 10/10

*note* I tried to color code the titles with the corresponding comic colors but tumblr mobile didn't have yellow so

[dccommies]

DC LEFTIST INFIGHTING CAGE MATCH: ROUND THREE - SET 2

HARTLEY RATHAWAY:

"CANONICALLY a socialist who gathers money/resources through legal and illegal means (charity fundraisers & theft) to share with poor, usually houseless, people. he’s been shown on multiple occasions giving food to houseless people, providing shelter, & being a community organizer. also he once got into a fistfight at a wake over politics."

TALIA AL GHUL:

"Environmentalist - Joins Lexcorp as its CEO specifically to backstab Lex and expose the company’s illegal dealings. She also tries to leak information to Clark Kent to assist him in taking down Lexcorp in his capacity as a reporter. Anti-billionaire, anti-corporation, and she doesn’t even want to commit mass genocide like her father!"

[baambastic]

Thoughts on Battle of the Super Sons (major spoilers for the entire plot):

Grazer is great as Jon

Laura Bailey’s Lois is great

I don’t particularly care for Travis Willingham’s Clark. His Superman is fine, but his voice sounds wrong coming out of mild-mannered journalist Clark Kent.

Love the whole opening. Especially love the old comics-style (complete with benday dots) montage of Clark’s life up until Jon’s birth

Glad to see we’re skipping the complicated multiverse stuff

Jon immediately jumping to “cosplay” as the reason for the Superman costume under the bed has made my day

But also Clark why was it just under your bed. Presumably while you were on a League mission for two weeks.

“I don’t care that you’re sorry! I just want you to be here!” OOF

The child is very sad, but at least the cat’s alive!

Jon feels like an actual kid, constantly excited by all the superhero stuff

They mentioned Kon!

Oh wow this movie has blood in it. I’m a bit surprised, even with the age rating

Tom Kenny Penguin! Haven’t heard that since 2004

Troy Baker doesn’t really sound like he wants to be here

It’s not Super Sons if Damian doesn’t make me want to punt him out the nearest window at first

Damian continues his bad habit of pushing kids to their deaths in the Batcave.

They did not make Jon an uwu soft bean, and for that I am grateful. He dishes out sass equal to or greater than Damian’s.

Also Griffo really sold how Damian felt about being rejected by the Titans. Really solid

Griffo’s Damian voice sounds like Damian’s trying to copy Batman’s gruff voice. I like it

Why is Damian the only person in this movie who says Jon and not Jonathan?

BAT-COW!!!!

Using two members of each main young hero team (Teen Titans, TT2003, YJ Animated (not the ‘98 version bc of overlap with TT2003)) for the Teen Titans is an interesting idea

Kind of surprising that Ollie and J’onn are the only other League members we get to see on the Watchtower

Blue Beetle and Hawkman (and I think the Atom?) were also shown on Starro’s hitlist, so it’s weird that they’re nowhere to be seen

I still need to get my hands on a hoodie like Jon’s

Those students have really low standards for insults

Bruce Don’t Beat Up Your Son Challenge (success on technicality of mind control)

Also, really effective body horror for something so bloodless

Damian you big softy

More body horror. yay

I dunno why i’m surprised Damian suggested killing Lois

Yo they made Krypto scary. Nice

Jor-El why did you send them to the watchtower if you thought they were probably gonna die

Lois continues to be awesome

Nice to see you, J’onn. Too bad you don’t get to do anything.

The dynamic between Lois and Lex is always fun to watch

Interesting Starro design. A bit too spiky for my tastes tho

“I’ve eliminated all human-based problems on your planet.” “You’re going to eat the planet!” “Correct.” Love that

Aw, poor baby demon brat

Oh, I never thought I’d see the day that Lois Lane used a DIY flamethrower on Lex Luthor. Incredible

I question the decision to include two green-skinned shapeshifters in the same fight scene

Speaking of, that’s a really cool effect they’ve got on J’onn when he’s burning

Jesus. No punches pulled on the sons v dads fight

Batman got punched out by an 11-year-old farmboy. He’ll never live that down

Man, this evacuation scene is wholesome

“I don’t know” *pushes all the buttons*

This whole Starro burning scene is very visceral, I gotta say

Jon and Dami are adorable, even when they think they’re about to die

Superdad to the rescue, with Jon looking like he’s about to cry with relief

Bathug! (they’re so awkward lol)

Starro covered in charred flesh? No thanks, I’m good

I think that lake water might be one of the few 2D animated things in this movie

Even with the character development, Damian’s still a demon brat (positive)

Aw, he’s so excited to go to Jon’s game

“Gotham’s Billionaire Prince Bruce Wayne Spotted With Son Damian at Middle School Baseball Game in Smallville, Kansas”

“Still can’t fly” *pained groans can be heard from the ground below*

They really didn’t mention any of the other Bats, huh? That’s surprising.

I’m guessing, since Jon can actually control his powers, all that stuff with Kathy and the milk hasn’t happened here

Battle of the Super Sons was a ton of fun! It has good writing, good humor, good emotional moments, and is consistently nice to look at. Shame it’s only got a 6.7 on imdb. I honestly might prefer this over the original Super Sons comics run

[pseudo-hero]

Kid!Clark Refused to Protect Kid!Lex?

You know I’ve seen a slight pattern between certain Superman-related stories whereby it’s been implied or outright stated that Clark Kent and Lex Luthor not only both grew up together/both lived in Smallville, but at times were actual close friends there too, yet Lex is beaten and abused (possibly at random) by his horrendous father/parents and Clark, even while dressed as Superboy...does nothing to stop it...? 

I don’t know if it’s a case of me misunderstanding the situations or if Clark just always thought there was nothing he could do about it; however, the idea that he literally heard Lex in pain as he was tormented everyday, but refused to help him in anyway—refused to lift a finger for him or do literally anything at all for Lex when Lex was a child—is such a deeply disturbing one for me (made worse when you consider how many other cases like this involving other children that Clark may have ignored the plight of over the years) that it pushes me to put their entire relationship in the stories where it happens, under the microscope. 

In a way, it could be argued that Clark inadvertently helped instigate Lex’s narcissistic, cynical and (sometimes self-) destructive ways. After all, if not even the angelic, protector-of-all that was Superboy would come to his rescue...then who would? And what’s stopping that protector from failing other children the world over? Why even stop at extreme child abuse? Why not let everything but the most destructive of acts go unpunished, huh, Superman? (Keep in mind that I’m not the only one who has taken note of this probably-accidental flaw of Superman’s morality/character.)

Even as recently as one of the recent issues of Action Comics from this year, Lex berates Superman for not revealing his identity to him which Lex claimed would have helped him by making him feel less alone. I interpreted that to be a reference to how a lot of versions of Lex grew up feeling ‘like an alien’ on their own planet, but come to think of it, what if Lex was implying in that moment of the comic that he was abused for being different/extremely intelligent? I don’t think there’s any main-storyline version of Lex from the past 20 - 35 years that hasn’t been horribly mistreated by their parents so it’s safe to assume that he was referencing this in particular, if not a combination of it and the aforementioned and or other things too, I reckon.

And you know what answer Clark gives after Lex calls him out on that? None!  He doesn’t even give an explanation! Is it because he doesn’t think Lex deserves one, or that they both know that’s just the excuse Lex is giving for his continued sickening actions? Or...could it be because Clark himself doesn’t know why he (when he was admittedly younger and more vulnerable himself, though never to the point of human weakness) abandoned Lex to his parents’ cruelty and expected the poor boy to fend for himself? If Clark knew what was going on then why didn’t he protect Lex when they were children? Why didn’t he at least fly up to Lionel as Superboy and yell at him to never hurt Lex again or else? Why didn’t he do anything? Why, why, WHY?

Imagine how great it would be for Lex Luthor’s and especially Clark’s characters, to finally have questions like this answered? Is Superman as super as we thought he was? Does he feel remorse for not being there for his childhood friend when Lex needed him most? I’m sorry but, you can’t just have Superman hear child abuse and do nothing about it without an explanation, writers! I honestly think this is another example of a goldmine of potentially good, compelling story-telling that DC Comics could easily tap into and utilize very well but of course, probably won’t. 

Oh well. AC and especially Superman Comics have been looking mighty interesting lately. It looks as though they have a lot to give in the future, so maybe it’s not such a big loss. Also, they can always go back to a plot idea like this at a later date. The few times they’ve tried to implement this into a Superman book in the last few decades, it more or less hasn’t worked, but I don’t think it’s because it can’t work. Like really, I believe this could be made into an amazing, award-worthy comic story!

[3rdbogwitch2theleft]

We're currently in season 2 of our Smallville rewatch (or first in my partner's case) so, largely from memory, here is my ranking of Smallville characters who should have been canonically queer listed on a scale from "Dude it was right there! I cannot fathom why you fumbled the ball here!" to "I mean I get why you didn't, but the subtext was loud". I might change my ranking after we finish the show.

1. First and most egregious we have Tess Mercer.

This woman is a lesbian.

Her second scene in the entire series is a square off with Lois in which Tess waits maybe 15 seconds before asking if Lois is into role play (to be fair, Lois is in a Spirit Halloween style french maid outfit at the time). Their tension remains severely homoerotic throughout the her time on the show.

They pair Tess with Oliver. They pair her with Zod. They give her the hots for Clark and none of it feels the least bit authentic. She is gay. Let this woman be gay.

2. Coming in at a close second is Chloe Sullivan.

Comp het is the only narrative explanation I can think of for why Chloe spent so much time pining for the obviously disinterested Clark when Pete was right there!

(Yes, I know that the actual reason is network demanded the love triangle, but I want an in-universe explanation, damn it)

Don't get me wrong, I remember her relationship to Jimmy being delightful, but "spent my teen years wanting someone who I knew didn't want me" is giving big "closeted and not ready to deal with my sexuality yet" energy.

Also her jacket choices in the early years feel distinctly sapphic to me, a sapphic who lived through this era.

Bonus: she and Lana could have ended up together and driven a stake right through that love triangle from hell.

3. Lois!

Lois is bi. Fight me.

Am I saying this just because I'm in love with her? No, but I'm gonna be real with you, it is a factor. It's just so obvious to me.

Let bygones be bygones and bi gals be bi gals

4. Clark Kent

Am I saying this just because I'm in love with him? No, but I'm gonna be real with you, it is a factor.

As the show went on, they dipped more and more heavily into the "super powers and kryptonite poisoning as queerness allegory" and it's... it's not great. But that's a whole other post. I just think that if you make listen to a character earnestly describe herself as her bestie's "krypto hag" when talking him through an issue he's having with his sex life AND you make your first on screen lesbian a homicidal shape shifter the least you can do is make your allegorically queer main guy actually bisexual.

Let bygones be bygones and bi guys be bi guys

Also it would kinda explain why he looked the other way about Lex's deeeeeply creepy behaviors for so long. He had the same blind loyalty to Lex that he had to Lana. While I do not ship them especially in the early seasons (Clark is a teen and Lex is in early 20s for the first 4 years of the friendship, that's a big nope for me) Clark having a crush on his morally dubious older friend would explain a lot.

Clark, that grown man is bribing a government agent for your mom's medical records. He is not you friend!

5. Lana Lang

I just think it would have been neat. As I mentioned under the Chloe section I would have really liked it if she and Chloe had ended up together.

Also Lana's journey from damsel in distress (that poor kid is in so. much. distress.) to morally complex love interest to superhero in her own right could also have been a really cool exploration of gender identity.

While I know the average TV writer in the 2000s first association the the word "binary" was likely "code" rather than "gender", non-binary Lana Lang would have slapped.

6. Lex Luthor

Lex is the official recipient of the "I completely get why they didn't make this canon, but the subtext was loud" award.

Lex is manipulative, duplicitous, obsessive, and predatory. (In other words, just another billionaire amiright) Making him canonically gay or bi would have reinforced some extremely harmful stereotypes and given how popular the show was in its time, I am very glad they didn't do this.

That said, he's just so obsessed with Clark and he loooves to compare himself to Alexander the Great.

And a season 6 (when everyone is adults) toxic, chaotic Clark/Lana/Lex throuple would have been amazing. The secrets! The betrayals! Certainly beats the canonical Lex/Lana doomed abusive marriage and ride on the ever present Clark/Lana merry-go-round.

Lex also made a clone combining his DNA with Clark's. Fellas....

Honorable mention: Oliver Queen

I don't have a narrative reason.

Maybe the fact that he was paired with first 3 people on this list at different points in the series just gives him a bit of bi/pan 4 bi/pan energy.

I also just think it would have been fun. And I like fun.

[tired9432]

General Question to Superbat Fans

Why do some superbat fans disrespect Clark so much? 🤷‍♀️

Whenever I see superbat posts in the Clark/Superman tag most of them ignore his history, his trauma, personality, his family/friends/allies [Lois, his parents, other Justice League members, Jimmy, Kara, Perry, John Henry, Pete, Steve, Cat and etc] his city, his children, [Conner, Chris, Mia, and Jon] and general mythos.

It seems people are only interested in Bruce's character and his family. The general vibe I get looking into this fandom is an odd combination of being heteronormative [strict top/bottom debate], misogyny [Lois, Selina, Talia, Diana, Lana] and sometimes even highly abusive! [Evil Clark but no Evil Bruce] It's a very crazy combo, but that's how it seems to me from looking at the majority of works.

For example, people typically make Bruce the bottom or feminine one. When realistically they would be switches. Yet, overwhelmingly all the work is dedicated to "Brucie Wanye." Even though most of the time his true personality is a cold, macho, caring man. Heck, I see Clark preferring more the bottom role. But, why the strictness when it comes to these positions?

To my other point I'm personally going to focus on Lois since, I prefer Superman's stories more than Batman. Anyways, this brings me to the lack of care towards Lois, where she is either villainized or not made to be an important person in Clark's live. Regardless of ships and platonic/romantic feelings, Lois is Clark's closest friend. Yet, none of that is rarely displaced in fanart, headcanons, and fics. Yet, Bruce's people are always made sure to be included.

Also, what's with the influx of evil Superman and poor innocent babyboy Batman. Look I like dark tropes, fluff, and all in between. I wouldn't mind the dark stuff so much if we at least kept the same treatment with both parties. Instead of only favoring one person.

To me and I'm sure many other people, it's deeply upsetting and disturbing to see the kindest original hero immigrant aka the champion of the oppressed. To be used for such weird, oc, fetishistic works.

Again, it's odd due to Batman having so much privilege and is known for being very controlling, yet it's never displayed in these darker takes. Batman is a good man, and can have troubling qualities, as all good characters have. Clark has his darker attributes too, but that’s okay as long as it presented fairly. Which from the looks of things isn't in this fandom.

Lastly, Clark and Bruce have a close friendship. Yet, again I see no one making art/fics about Clark's other close relationships. But, everyone seems to be a huge fan of being a multishipper for Bruce. Example being Selina, Talia, Joker, Harvey, Ghostmaker, Hal, Barry, Arthur, Diana, and etc. Seems to be to be a bit biased no, for fans that claim to love Clark and ship superbat have no problem doing this for Bruce.

Where's the love for other Clark ships like Lois, Lana, Lex, John Corben, Brainiac 5, Hal, Arthur, Diana, Barry, Maxima, Volcana, Blanque, and etc.

Also, just want to point out it's not really special that Clark recognizes Bruce's heartbeat as the go to superbat trope. He does that with everyone like again to list Lois, his parents, his children, his friends both in the Justice League, at the Daily Planet, and in Smallville. Heck, he's even given Jimmy his own personal watch to call him!

This is not an attack towards anyone's preferences. I just sincerely want to know why there's such a strong bias in superbat. It's so overwhelming, this disparity. I personally, do like superbat as long as they are both treated like equals.

***TLDR

I’m tired of Clark Kent being used as a tool to prop Bruce or the batfamily, rather than a true equal.

It just seems to me everything that makes Clark a beautiful character, with his engaging personality, mythos, and family/friends were thrown under the bus for the superbat ship.

To me a ship or an OTP should be an additional expansion and fun for both characters. Not a definite favoritism towards one person in the majority of content.

If you like one character in a pairing a lot, why wouldn’t you want to know more about their partner? It just doesn’t make sense to have an extreme bias. Again, this is in reference to the majority of superbat shippers, not to anyone personally.

Thank you, for reading this and have a great day! 🌟